9:40 pm
June 11

Royals @ Athletics

Who will WIN this matchup?

Kansas City Royals (30-31)

@ Oakland Athletics (37-27)

 

Starting Pitchers:

Singer (KC): 3-5; 4.88 ERA

Irvin (OAK) 4-7; 3.89 ERA

 

Current odds:

Kansas City Royals: (+120)

Oakland Athletics: (-130)

 

• Singer (3-5, 4.88 ERA) has alternated wins and losses in his past four starts, taking a hard-luck, 2-1 defeat Sunday against the Minnesota Twins in his most recent outing. The 24-year-old right-hander allowed just two runs in 5 2/3 innings while striking out seven. Singer has made 24 starts in his two-year big-league career, but he has never appeared in a game west of Kansas City.

• Singer will be facing a team that has been struggling on offense even while winning six of the past eight games. Oakland totaled only three hits in the Thursday loss, with the lone run coming on the club’s only extra-base hit, a home run by Jed Lowrie. Lowrie’s blast snapped a three-game homerless streak for the A’s, who totaled just 12 hits — including just one double and one triple — in their 4-0, 5-2 two-game home sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier this week.

• Melvin hopes it doesn’t happen to Cole Irvin (4-7, 3.89 ERA) in his scheduled start on Friday. The 27-year-old left-hander has faced the Royals just once in his career, allowing one run on five hits in seven innings in his major league debut on May 12, 2019. Pitching then for the Philadelphia Phillies in an interleague game at Kansas City, Irvin held the Royals without an extra-base hit and was rewarded with his first big-league win.

• Two of the guys who combined to go 0-for-7 against him in that game — Kelvin Gutierrez and Jorge Soler — played major roles in the Thursday contest. Gutierrez hit a two-run single, and Soler socked a two-run homer. Royals manager Mike Matheny noted afterward that against a pitching-strong team like the A’s, patience is required.

5/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Oakland Athletics
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